This Day In History

From This Day In History The History Channel

1777 The Battle of Princeton
Evading General Charles Cornwallis’ larger force sent to retake Trenton, General George Washington flanked the Britishers and attacked the rear guard outside of Princeton soundly defeating them. After the defeat, the British chose to concentrate their forces between New Brunswick and New York, essentially abandoning control of the bulk of New Jersey.

1861 Delaware Rejects Secession
Only a few weeks after South Carolina broke ties with the rest of the United States, Delaware refused to do the same. Although technically a slave state, Delaware was much more industrialized and had strong commercial ties with the North, especially neighboring Pennsylvania.

1952 DRAGNET Debuts
The first of many realistic police dramas, Dragnet might be considered the ancestor of all the CSI and Law and Order spin-offs we have today. “Just the facts, ma’am.”

1959 ALASKA Admitted Into The Union:
Alaska became the 49th, and largest, state when President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation to that effect.

2000 Last Daily PEANUTS Comic Strip Is Published
Charles Schulz retired from doing his comic strip just a month and a half before his death on Saturday, February 12, 2000. The final Sunday strip would appear February 13, 2000.